Midnight
by Veratrum
Summary: Roxas doesn't get enough sleep, and Axel wants to know why. AkuRoku fluff, Rated T for mild language.


Roxas sat up and stretched, yawning as the moonlight streamed in from his open curtains. 'Full moons are nice.' He thought, the bright light making patterns on his blanket. He glanced over at his bedside table to check the time, although it had to be at least midnight, but there was something covering his clock. He gently picked it up and smoothed it out in front of him, instantly recognizing the handwriting. It was a note from his mom.

"_Dear Roxas,_

_There was an emergency at the hospital, so I had to come in right away. I didn't want to wake you up because you've looked very tired lately, and you need your sleep. I'll be back sometime tomorrow, around three or four in the afternoon! You and Axel have fun, dear._

_Much love, your Mama."_

Roxas sighed in relief. He didn't have to sneak around and be quiet tonight; no matter how much he loved his mom, she slept extremely lightly, and woke up with the slightest noises. It made moving around at night really hard.

He pulled back the blankets and stood up, stretching again and dropping the note back onto his bedside table. He really, really needed to eat something.

Padding down the hallway and down the stairs in just his pajamas, his footsteps slightly muffled by the plush carpet under his feet, he made his way to the kitchen to find some food. Probably a lot of snacks and unhealthy junk food; His mom _always_ had that stuff stocked. Roxas' mouth was practically watering by the time he reached the pantry.

He thought of flipping on the light, but the moonlight was shining in through the high windows, and it illuminated the entire kitchen in a silvery glow. He opened the door to the pantry and gathered up as much food as he could carry, even carrying a bag with his mouth; He would just have to stockpile it in his room for those nights he couldn't sneak around.

Roxas shut the door with his foot and turned around just as the light snapped on, scaring the ever-loving shit out of him and making him drop everything he had gathered.

"Roxas?"

Shit.

Axel.

Roxas and the rest of the Strife family had blond hair and blue eyes, whereas Axel, being adopted, looked nothing like them. He had spiked back, wild red hair and bright green eyes. Everyone loved him, but Roxas just kinda lived with him. The only time they had ever had an interesting conversation was when Roxas asked him about the triangle tattoos under his eyes. Axel had laughed and said there was really nothing special behind them, he had just wanted the tattoos. And that was that. He was an okay brother, but not someone he wanted to explain why he was up at 2 in the morning instead of sleeping, and carrying enough junk food to take down a bull elephant.

The man in question was rubbing at his eye and looking at Roxas with a strange look on his face.

"What?" Roxas asked defensively, bending down to pick up some of the stuff.

"Is there a reason you don't sleep at night, Roxy?" Axel asked coolly, leaning against the doorframe.

"I do sleep at night. I just woke up in the middle of the night and wanted a snack."

Axel snorted. "A snack? You were gonna take enough food with you to go into a food coma. Not to mention you suck at lying. You sleep all day and I've heard you sneaking around at night." He stared and Roxas' face went scarlet.

"I- You- it's none of your business!" he shouted, dropping the food yet again. He moved to leave the kitchen, but Axel stopped him with a hand on his chest. Roxas looked up at him.

"Move."

Looking down at him, Axel sighed. "Look, Roxy, I'm a little worried for your health. I've only been living with y'all for a few months, but this is a daily thing with you. What's wrong?" His voice was low and soft, and he sounded genuinely concerned. Roxas bit his lip and looked down, knowing that if the redhead continued to badger him he would just burst into tears.

But Roxas didn't cry.

So he turned around and went to leave the kitchen through the dining room, even though the way Axel was blocking was a quicker way to his room. "Leave me alone."

Axel moved and ended up in front of him again, blocking the way. "No. Tell me what's the matter."

Roxas turned around to go the other way _again_, but Axel was too fast, _again_. Roxas was getting frustrated with this.

"Get the _fuck_ out of my way, for fucks sake." He turned around and ran, smiling with satisfaction when he reached the doorway before the pain in his ass could get there.

"Oh, so it's a chase you want, eh?"

He turned around just in time to see Axel begin to sprint towards him. Roxas let out a _very_ unmanly screech, and began to run away.

He ran out of the dining room and into the living room, turning around once he reached the large mahogany table, panting. Axel was laughing as he skidded to a halt on the other side, across from Roxas. "Out of shape, Roxy?" he teased, and Roxas bristled.

"Oh go to hell, you idiot." But Roxas was also smiling as he said it. Axel moved a fraction to the left, making Roxas move with him.

"You're not gonna catch me." Roxas smirked, mirroring the others' moves.

"Oh yeah?" Axel asked, with a glint in his eye. He didn't like the look of that.

The redhead backed up a few feet, and then suddenly vaulted over the table. Roxas yelled and ran for it once again, giggling and heading for the stairs with Axel hot on his heels.

He had almost made it when he was tackled to the ground, both of them laughing like maniacs and out of breath.

"You run too fuckin' fast, Jesus." Axel panted, while lifting Roxas up over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" he gasped, beating his fists against the others' back and kicking his legs.

The redhead just laughed and carried him up the stairs like he was a bag of flour, kicking open his own room door and tossing Roxas onto the bed. Before he could scramble up, Axel had straddled him and grabbed his hands, pinning them onto the pillow above Roxas' head. Axel got nose to nose with Roxas, his bright green eyes silver in the moonlight.

"What's eating yah?" He asked softly. "And don't give me any bullshit this time."

Roxas stared resolutely back at him, trying to worm his hands out of Axel's tight grip. "I told you. Nothing. I'm fine, now let me go."

Axel shook his head. "You sleep all day, you hoard food in your room, you sneak around all night, and the dark circles under your eyes look like someone gave you a permanent shiner. You're not okay, and just because your mom ain't here enough to notice doesn't mean I haven't."

The tears began to prick at the corners of Roxas's eyes and he looked off to the side of the room, staying silent. If he opened his mouth the tears would spill over, and it was taking every ounce of self-restraint he had to keep the tears in. He tilted his head to the side and weakly jerked his arms, but there was barely any force put into it.

"I'm scared of the dark." He whispered, and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn't really the dark he was scared of, it was the things he imagined he saw that scared him, and he'd tried to talk to his friends about it just to be dismissed as overreacting. This was the part where Axel told him he was being stupid, and that being scared of the dark was for babies, or just laugh at him.

He didn't expect Axel to bury his face into the side of Roxas's neck and breathe "Oh, Roxy" onto his shoulder.

But he did it.

He didn't expect Axel to release his hands and wrap his arms around him.

But he did it.

So Roxas wrapped his own arms around Axel and hugged him tightly, just as Axel sat up, bringing the blonde with him. Roxas buried his face into the redheads chest, and just started crying. He cried about the sleepless days and nights, he cried about no one listening to him when he tried to talk to someone, he cried about being forced to suffer in silence, and he cried about the fears themselves, all the while clutching at Axel like a lifeline. The whole time Axel just rubbed his back gently and whispered reassuring words into his ear.

He sniffed and noticed that the redhead smelled good. It was a really comforting smell, like when you strike a match and blow it out, or a campfire. That lingering, smoky, woodsy scent. Roxas brushed his nose back and forth along Axel's chest, inhaling. It calmed him down, just slightly.

Axel must have sensed the sudden tiredness that Roxas felt, so he laid him down and wrapped his arms around him, which made Roxas feel protected. The blonde snuggled into his chest as Axel slid the blankets over them, then stroked Roxas' hair slowly.

"Thank you, Axel." Roxas whispered, just as they both drifted off to sleep, Roxas' head nestled under Axel's.

And Roxas didn't care about the dark or shadows, only the man next to him.

* * *

Okay so the ending probably sucks, mainly because it's 6:30 in the afternoon and I haven't slept for quite a while.

I just wanted to write a cute, fluffy AkuRoku fic.

I don't own KH or the characters and I don't make money from this.


End file.
